Coupling.



E. WHITAKER.

COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1905.

Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

Inventor Witnesses Attorneys.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD WHITAKER, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGN OR, BY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO BRUNSWICK REFRIGERATING COMPANY. A CORPORATION OFNEW JERSEY.

COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 23, 1909.

Original application filed January 25, 1905, Serial No. 242,594. Dividedand. this application filed. March 31, 1906. Serial No. 253,188.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD .I'HITAKER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of New Brunswick, county of Middlesex, and State ofNew Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inCouplings, of which the following is a description.

The object I have in view is the production of an improved form ofcoupling which may be used to automatically connect two rotatingmembers. This coupling has but few moving arts, is very certain inaction, may be readi y examined, and is very compact.

The present case is a division of an application filed by me January 25,1905, Serial No. 242,594. In that application I disclose my improvedform of coupling in connection with. arefrigerating apparatus of thecompression type employing a pump and an operating motor, t e partsbeing so arranged that they may be started after being stopped andwithout danger of being stalled. As in apparatus of this type arecomprised small isolated plants 0 era-ted by an electric motor, thelatter usua y has insuflicient torque to start the pump, after it hasbeen stopped for some hours, unless the pump is first started by hand.

The present invention comprises a con ling which may be arranged betweent e motor and the pump for automatically coupling them after the motorhas been started and has developed sufiicient power to actuate the pump,although the coupling may be used in other situations, as is apparent.

In the accompanying drawings, which show one embodiment of my invention,Figure 1 is an end view of the coupling; F ig. 2 is a sectional viewthereof taken on the lines 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional viewtaken on the lines 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken onthe lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

In all of the several views like parts are designated by the samereference characters.

In carrying out my invention I provide a wheel 1, which is adapted to beconnected to the shaft 2 and rotate thelatter by mechanism which will bethrown into action after the wheel has been started, and rotates at asufiicientlyv high rate of speed to overcome the inertia of theresistance to the shaft 2. The wheel 1 is referably formed with a thickor weighted rim, as .shown, .sothat it may perform the duty of afly-wheel, and by preference said rim presents a broad fiat peripheralsurface to receive a belt by which said wheel may be connected with theoperat-' lhe band ulley 7 is intended to be secured to the she t 2 sothat it will rotate therewith. The rim 3 of the band pulley 7 is rooved.at 9, and within this move lies a hand 10 similar to that of a handbrake. This band is made preferably of flexible steel and has angularfittings 11 and 12 secured at its extremities. Each of these fittingscomprises an car 13 and a shank 14, the shank being riveted or otherwisesecured to the band. By means of these fittings the band will have anular extremities. An abutment 15'is forme integral with, or separate andrigidly secured to, the body of the pulley 1 in such a position that itwill engage with the fitting 11. As shown in the drawmg, the abutment 15is in the form of a pin, which passes through an opening 16 in the bodyof the wheel 1. The web 17 of the wheel 1 is thickened at 18 so as toform a seat for the pin 15. Another openin in this seat forms a bearingfor a pin 19. his pin has a squared or flattened extremity 20 whichengages with the fitting 12 and constitutes a cam. The other extremityof the pin 19 enters an o ening in an arm 21, to which it is secured y aset-screw 22. This arm 21 has an enlarged head 23, which forms a weightand is normally drawn into contact with the hub 4 by means of a spring24. The other extremity of the s ring 24 is secured to the web 17 of thewhee 1.

The parts are so arranged that upon the weight 23 and arm 21 being movedoutward against the tension of the sprin 2 b centrifugal action, the pin19 will e osclllated within its bearings, and its cam end 20 engagingwith the ear of the fitting 12 will move it toward'the ear of thefitting 11,

two wheels together.

the latter being fixed, thus tightening the band 10 u on the ulley 7.This will cause the W eel 1 and pulley 7 to turn together. The device isadjusted so that as soon as the wheel 1, which is rotated by a belt orother means from a source of power, attains a sufficiently high speed tostore up energy in its rim, the weight 23 will be moved outward againstthe tension of the spring 24 and clamp the band brake upon the drum. Bythis means it will be seen that the wheel will be connected or coupledto the shaft after it attains a certain definite and predetermined s eedand thus entirely automatically. 'l e device is adjusted so that thewheel 1 will be free to turn without turning the shaft 2 until,sufiicient energy has been stored in the fly-wheel to overcome theinertia of the work. When this occurs, the weight will be thrown outwardagainst the tension of the spring, and the band will be tightened uponthe wheel 7, coupling the The web 17, as will be seen in Fig. 2-, islocated at one side of the medial line of the wheel, the major portionextending on the other side. The hub 4 is similarly located,

that is to say, its longer portion is coincident with that side of thefly-wheel which extends the greater distance beyond the web. The movingarm and weight are arranged upon the side of the web on which the longerportion of the hub is located. By this construction the device isrendered very compact and occupies a minimum length upon the shaft.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. The combination of a shaft, a wheel loosely mounted thereon, the saidwheel having a thickened fiat rim so that it serves both as a fly-wheeland a pulley and having a fixed abutment, and a cam, a wheel secured tothe shaft so as to turn with it and surrounded by a band, the bandhaving angular extremities, one of the said extremities engaging withthe fixed abutment, and the other with the cam, an arm secured to thecam, and a retracting spring for moving the arm.

2. The combination of a fly-wheel, the said fiy-wheel having anelongated hub, a web and a thickened and broadened rim, the said webbeing located at one side of the medial line of the Wheel, the hub beingsimilarly located with its longer portion coincident with that side ofthe fly-wheel which extends the greater distance beyond the web, a leverand weight on that side of the web on which the longer portion of thehub is located, a second wheel secured to the shaft on the other side ofthe hub, a band surrounding the second wheel, and means actuated by thelever for tightening the band.

3. The combination of a shaft to be driven, a wheel loosely mountedthereon and having a fixed abutment and a cam, a wheel fixedly securedon said shaft, a band encompassing said fixed wheel and having angularextremities one of which engages said abutment and the other said cam,an arm secured to said cam, and a retracting spring for moving said armand cam in one direction; substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a shaft to be driven, a wheel loosely mountedthereon, a wheel fixedly secured on said shaft, a band encompassing saidfixed wheel and having one end connectedwith said loosely mounted wheeland its other end provided with an angular extremity, a pivotallymounted cam carried by said loosely mounted wheel and engaging saidangular band-extremity, a weighted arm connected with said cam, and aretracting spring for moving said arm and cam in one direction;substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this twenty third day of March,1905.

RICHARD WHITAKER.

Witnesses LEONARD H. DYER, JNo. RoBT. TAYLOR.

